Future Generation: Overwhelmed
by JadeyTheKitty
Summary: Being a Malfoy, Scorpius has a lot to fear on his first ride to Hogwarts. One shot. Complete.


**Future Generation: Overwhelmed**

_Characters Contained_: Scorpius, Albus, Rose

_Disclaimer_: I neither own nor make a profit off of anything from the Harry Potter universe.

_Status_: One shot. Complete.

_Other_: Written to pass the time. If my claim is accepted, it'll be the second in 100 drabbles centering on Scorpius Malfoy.

_Other-other_: I still haven't been accepted, so keep your fingers crossed! I know I've written this trio's first meeting already, but it was fun to write one with a Scorpius point of view

* * *

Scorpius felt like he was in a haze of denial as he sat down in the empty compartment, his movements edged with the sort of stiffness one could only achieve by tensing _every single _muscle at once.

As the first Malfoy to be going to Hogwarts since the war, he had a lot to live up to… or, actually, a lot to live down. He had grown up being carefully sheltered by his parents from the angry glances his last name earned in the wizarding world these days.

Now, though, he couldn't be sheltered any longer. It was time to sink or swim. And he planned to most definitely swim. Never mind that he didn't _actually_ know how to swim. Since it was simply a figure of speech he imagined that he would be okay even without that knowledge, but all the same…

Scorpius cut his train of thought off sharply, realizing he was letting his nerves work themselves into a mad charge that might just lead off the edge of sanity's cliff.

He had to be calm. He had to _breathe_. He had to remember that he was a _Malfoy_, and whatever anyone said, that name still meant something special. A few touchy people who didn't know what it was like to choose sides to survive couldn't strip the prestige from a name as old as his.

At any rate, he was alone in his compartment as the train's whistle blew and the engine slowly began to pick up speed, taking the students away on their journey. Scorpius wouldn't have to face the stares he knew would be coming for at least the rest of the day… his father had said it would be evening before the Hogwarts Express reached the school.

"There's someone in there!"

"Shh…! It's just one boy. C'mon."

"Rose! _Rose!_"

Could sheer _terror_ kill you? Scorpius wasn't sure, but he was willing to make bets that it could. His stomach had clenched at the sound of the voices outside of the door, and he was fairly certain his blood was making a valiant attempt to stop flowing.

Before he could ponder his coming demise too long, a girl with dark auburn hair pulled up into a bun on her head and more freckles than he could care to count on her face pushed her way in. A boy with a guilty (and rather green – he looked as ill as Scorpius felt –) expression and a head of scruffy black hair peered in behind her.

"Hi," the girl said, drawing Scorpius's attention back to her. "We're sitting here, okay?"

He started to reply that that was _not_ okay, but she sat down without giving him the chance. The boy had the decency to look apologetic, at least… right before joining her in the seat across from Scorpius.

"I'm Rose Weasley," the girl said, continuing the nonexistent conversation with all of the determination of a steamroller. "And you're Malfoy, right? What's your given name, though?"

Scorpius wondered if all eleven year olds were like this, but judging from the mortified expression on the boy's face, the girl probably seemed as rude to him as she did to Scorpius.

Rose frowned, taking in Scorpius slightly haughty expression and lack of response. "This is Albus," she went on, glaring at him. She was probably trying to force him to be friendly, but Scorpius didn't see that it was any of her business if he was rude or not – this was _his_ compartment, after all.

He _did_ need to say something, though. She didn't seem to be inclined to give up.

"Albus," he repeated, treating the word like something horribly unpleasant. "What sort of name is—"

"Albus _Potter_," she broke in, narrowing her eyes.

The boy's face was red enough that it was probably generating enough heat to fry an egg. Scorpius felt his own face heat up a little as well, but just slightly.

"Ah…" Scorpius didn't have much to say to that. Insulting a Potter or a Weasley was probably the most suicidal thing he could do in a school that, according to his father, worshipped the dirt the families walked on.

Albus rallied in the unpleasant silence, forcing an uneasy smile into place. "No… it's okay. I think it's a stupid name, too. For a kid. You can just call me Al, okay?"

A life's worth of drilling in manners finally kicked in, and Scorpius stiffly extended one hand. "Scorpius."

Rose beamed, and Albus offered a smile as he shook hands. "Nice to meet you."

When they arrived in the Great Hall later that evening, Scorpius had to admit to himself that it made things a _little_ better to be seen with a Weasley and a Potter standing on either side of him… even if the Weasley girl was annoying, and the thought of a Potter and a Malfoy not at one another's throats _was_ odd.


End file.
